Clay Burden married his wife Rhonda because he was tired of being on his own. Val had walked out on him - and if he couldn't have Val, maybe marriage might make him forget her. Six years later, working in Paradise City, Clay meets Val again. Married to the sinister Henry Vidal, she's changed: still beautiful and passionate, still compelling, but tense and nervous and driven by odd fears and anxieties.

When Clay leaves his job and joins the Vidal empire, what begins as a sneaking feeling of unease hardens into stone cold certainty. Val must be released from the hypnotic influence exerted over her by her husband - even if Clay has to murder to set her free ...